On Wednesday 29 Mar, 12 of our Y10 MEP students attended The MEP Journey to the East Conference at the ICC in Birmingham.  Over 1,500 students from the UK’s 79 MEP schools were present.  It was an incredible day out.

We were welcomed with music performances by an Anglo-Sino duet followed by a video call from The Rt. Hon. Nick Gibb from Whitehall.  The day continued with talks from: academics on history, politics, and the environment in China; university students and employees about how they use their Chinese (including a member of the intelligence services whose privacy we had to respect by turning off our mobile phones!); and professionals on music, animation, and internet literature.  We broke in the middle of the day for a delicious Chinese meal and cultural activities in the main auditorium.

The day wrapped up with the results of the MEP Song Writing competition followed by a performance by the Anglo Chinese Song Singing Band – Transition.  While a Y10 entrant from another school secured first place in the competition, 5 other entrants were given notable mentions for their song writing skills.  Beths’ “Multinational Misfits” (comprising Zedaine , Daron , Femi , Chidozie , and Samuel) were included in this line up.  Well done – you did yourselves and the school proud!  We just need you to perform it for us now at one of your Y10 assemblies!!

We were a wee bit delayed on the way back due to the weather (sorry parents/carers!), but all made it back in once piece having enjoyed a somewhat less culturally related takeaway on the way home (although the students did have to change the language on the machine and order in Chinese!)

A big thank you to Ms Bridge and Ms Liu for joining us on the trip and for all your help on the day!

Looking forward to next year’s event!

Best,

Mr Stein

Student feedback

Today we went on a trip to the ICC in Birmingham, where an MEP conference was held. It was very interesting because we were able to learn about different parts of Chinese culture which made up the country. I really enjoyed doing calligraphy during lunchtime and was able to learn how to do it well. Overall, it was a very fun experience, and I could see that everyone else thought that as well. Xie Xie Lao shi for the experience! - Adriel, 10W

I really enjoyed this experience at the ICC in Birmingham, it made me really grateful to be a part of the Mandarin Excellence Programme. I enjoyed all the performances; a lot of work was clearly put into them. My favourite part of the day were the art and animation talks. 这非常有趣！- Femi, 10C

On 29th March 2023, we went on an MEP trip to the ICC in Birmingham for a conference for all schools doing the MEP course. It was very exciting exploring aspects of Chinese culture, such as music and internet fiction. My favourite part of the day was playing the traditional Chinese drums, it was very fun!- Victor 10H

Today we went on a HSK trip to the ICC in Birmingham for a MEP conference for all schools. It was extremely fun and interesting exploring the Chinese culture. My favourite part of the day was the song 对不起 by The Transition, and it was clear the crowd loved it too! 今天非常好玩儿！Xie xie for this experience.. - Daron 10A

We were invited to an MEP experience trip to Birmingham. The trip was incredibly entertaining and highly interesting. The best part for me was the listening to 对不起 by the band Transition. 今天很有趣，我们玩得很开心.- Zedaine 10W

I really enjoyed my time today at the ICC in Birmingham. The MEP Conference was great, and we met some interesting people, namely Kerry Brown and the band Transition where we listened to interesting speeches and mandarin songs! - Samir 10C

The ICC Birmingham MEP conference was great. The talks were filled with interesting experiences and Chinese culture. The band Transition was brilliant, and I loved all the songs. The overall atmosphere in the place was really great too! - Fraser 10A

We went to the ICC for an MEP trip. There were multiple engaging activities that we had the chance to take part in. Overall, it was a fun experience that everyone enjoyed. - Chidozie 10C

Today we went on a trip to the ICC in Birmingham for a MEP conference for all schools. It was interesting listening to the stories of the relations between Britain and China, such as the Opium War. I had a cracking time, and it was worth waking up bright and early at 5am. My favourite part of the day was the stories about animation and internet fiction - they were certainly... unique and especially interesting. 谢谢! - James 10C